Five senior Republican senators in Congress introduced a bill Thursday (Feb. 25) to repeal the 10-year, multiple-entry visa for Chinese citizens and return to the pre-2014 one-year multiple-entry visa as a way to pressure the Chinese Communist Party to improve human rights in China.
The Visa Security Act is sponsored by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, Florida Senator Rick Scott, and Tennessee Senator John Blackburn. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have co-sponsored a bill to restore the pre-2014 U.S. visa policy for China by granting one-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese nationals.
Key elements of the bill include prohibiting Chinese citizens from obtaining B1/B2 visas valid for 10 years until the Secretary of State certifies that China has: ceased its economic and industrial espionage against the United States; ceased its provocative and coercive behavior toward Taiwan; revoked the National Security Act for Hong Kong and fully implemented its commitments under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration; ended its systematic Uighur, Tibetan and other ethnic oppression; withdrawing its illegal claims in the South China Sea; and releasing foreign hostages and individuals wrongfully detained in China.
Under this legislation, Chinese citizens would be eligible for one-year multiple-entry visas. This legislation does not apply to certain residents of Taiwan or Hong Kong.
In addition, the bill requires that Chinese applicants who engage in espionage and other malicious activities be subject to regular consular interviews and reviews to ensure they have a legitimate reason to travel to the United States.
Sen. Rubio said granting a 10-year visa is misaligned with the Chinese Communist Party engaging in malicious acts in the United States.
“It is long past Time for the United States to comprehensively address the imbalance in the U.S.-China relationship and to stop the Chinese Communist Party from taking advantage of our programs and openness.” Rubio said, “Ending China’s access to 10-year multiple-entry visas (under the Chinese Communist Party) is a logical step in overturning the bad policies put in place by the Obama administration. China does not deserve special treatment, and it is misaligned with our (competitive) relationship, their continued abusive and malicious activities in the United States.”
Sen. Cotton said the U.S. made a bad decision to give China a 10-year visa in 2014.
“Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has been granted 10-year business and tourist visas, which allow Chinese citizens to enter and exit the United States at will.” Cotton said, “In granting these visas, the United States is also welcoming the Chinese Communist Party and its intelligence agencies, as well as those who open their arms and want to work with the Chinese Communist Party. This was a bad decision in 2014, and it’s time for us to fix that mistake.”
Senator Scott believes that the Obama and Biden administrations’ appeasement of the CCP only fuels the power of CCP leader Xi Jinping.
“Obama/Biden’s appeasement of the CCP will only fuel the power of General Secretary Xi, nothing else.” Scott said, “We know that Communist China will stop at nothing to steal American technology and intellectual property and attempt to dominate the world. There is no reason for Communist China to receive preferential visa treatment, so I am proud to join my colleagues in holding them accountable.”
Blackburn said the new bill would stop the revolving door used by the Chinese Communist Party and hold it accountable for global human rights.
“Until the CCP ends its systematic violations of human rights and religious freedom, the United States cannot continue to provide 10-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese citizens.” Blackburn said, “The Visa Security Act would stop the revolving door that the CCP has used for the past five years and in turn hold the CCP accountable for global human rights.”
Cruz said the biggest geopolitical threat can no longer be allowed to exploit the U.S. visa system.
“China (the Chinese Communist Party) poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States,” Cruz said, adding that “the CCP engages in propaganda and censorship to control what Americans see, hear and think about China. It’s long past time to end the Chinese Communist Party’s abuse of the openings in our visa system. The new bill would counter Chinese (CCP) aggression and advance U.S. Security.”
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